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Teacher's 
Practical Guide 



BY 

LAURA LOEHLE THORNBURG 



W. M. WELCH COMPANY 

CHICAGO 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two CoDies Received 

MAR 12 1906 

Copy right Entry 

CLASS (Xl XXc. No, 

COPY B. 



COPYRIGHTED 1904 
BY W. M. WELCH COMPANY, CHICAGO 



PREFACE. 

This little book has been compiled with the earnest 
hope that teachers, and through them the bo}'s and 
girls of our country, might receive a little help and 
inspiration, I hope that the ideas herein suggested, 
which are the results of practical school-room experi- 
ence, may suggest toi teachers other and better ways 
and methods, for "th,e best of the good is none too 
good for the children." 

I wish toi acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. 
Walter S. Athearn o^f the Midland Schools for his 
courteous assistance and suggestions given the prepa- 
ration O'f this manuscript. 

L. L. T. 



INDEX 

Chapter Page 

I . September 8 

Memory Gem 
Birthdays 
Stories and Poems 
Seat Work 
Nature Study 
Health Lessons 
II . October 10 

III. November 15 

IV. December 20 

V. January 24 

VI . February 26 

VII. March 28 

VIII. April 88 

IX. May 37 

X. Suggestive Supplementary Language 

Lessons 41 

XI . Seat Work 46 

XII . School Room Games 51 

XIII. Some Suggestions 5(i 

XIV. Memory Gems 68 

XV. Paper Folding 67 



CHAPTER I. 
September. 

Memorize : 

September waves his golden rod 

Along the lanes and hollows, 
And saunters 'round the sunny fields, 

A-playing with the swallows. 



Listen, children, soon you'll hear 
Bells a-ringing far and near. 
This is what I think they'll say : 
"School begins again today. 
Welcome, little boys and girls, 
Blackeyes, blue eyes, caps and curls. 
Bring your pencils, books and slates. 
Sing and read, and write and spell, 
Study every lesson well." 

SeptemTjer Birthdays. 

Eugene Field, the children's poet. — Francis Willard. 

A proverb or maxim for each week, to be written 
in colored chalk on blackboard and memorized. 
Pupils are tO' copy in their note books from week to 
week. 

1. "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, 
and loving favor than silver and gold." 

2. "There is only one way to be happy, and that is to make 
somebody else so." 

3. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." 

4. "If you would not be known to do a thing, never do it." 

— Emerson. 
SeptemTjer. 

What season of the year is it? Why so called? 
What is the meaning of the word ? How many days 

7 



5 SEPTEMBER. 

in the month ? What does Mother Nature do during 
the thirty days ? What kind O'f weather ? HoHdays ? 

September Stories and Foems. 

September. — Helen Hunt Jackson. 

The Crows. — Phoebe Gary. 

Hiawatha's Childhood. — Longfellow. 

The Anxious Leaf. — Henry Ward Beecher. 

The Lion and the Mouse. — Aesoph. 

Robert Bruce and the Spider. 

The Fly and the Moth. — Aesoph. 

King Solomon and the Ants. 

Garden and Cradle. — Eugene Field. 

Seat Work. 

Cut, draw or paint, turnips, radishes, onions, 
beets, cabbage, potatoes and apples. 

Cut, draw or paint, leaves, twigs, trees and flow- 
ers. 

Press flowers, grasses and leaves of every kind, 
Mo'unt and use for school room decorations. Gather 
seeds of all kinds, place in bottles, tie with, ribbon 
and hang about the room. Paste seeds, leaves, etc.. 
on cardboard to form pretty designs and borders. 
Draw, paint or cut fruits which grow on vines, trees, 
bushes, shrubs, etc. 

Nature Study. 

Study plants, root and all. Study the trees. Study 
insects, nuts, flowers. Coiloring oif leaves and flow- 
ers. Study golden-rod, milkweed, thistle and sun- 
flowers. 

Study the weather. Watch flowers and plants "go 
to sleep." Study different kinds of bark and make 



SEPTEMBER. g 

a collection. Study fall fruits, vegetables and 
gourds. 

Health Iiessous. 

Lessons on Food. 
How and What to Eat. 
Effect on Body. 



CHAPTER II. 
October. 

October Stories and Poems. 

Ruth and the Gleaners. 

The Sower and the Seed. 

October's Bright Blue Weather. — Helen Hunt Jackson. 

How the Leaves Come Down. — Susan Coolidge. 

The Constant Dove. — Celia Thaxter. 

The Anxious Leaf. — Henry Ward Beecher. 

The Little Match Girl. — Hans Anderson. 

Stories Mother Nature Told. — Jane Andrews. 



October strews the woodland o'er 

With many a brilliant color, 
The world seems brighter than before, 

Why should our hearts be duller? 

When merry months that summer brought 
Have laughed and cried themselves quite sober, 

God sends a gracious afterthought 
Of silent rapture, called October. 



The fairy crops are falling fast 

From off the giant oaks, 
And all the poplar and the elms 

Are dropping their gay cloaks. 
A ghost the silver aspen gleams 

Against the violet sky. 
And around the beech small furry things 

Are scampering swift and shy. 
They dart around the chestnut tall, 

Each gathering up a hoard, 
When days are cold and nights are long. 

To furnish forth his board. 



OCTOBER. • II 

Study Indian Iiife During Fall. 

1. Personal Appearance. 

2. Dress, material and hO'W made. 

3. Wigwam and furniture and how made. 

4. Food, how obtained and prepared. 

5. Weapons. Material, how made and used. 

6. Occupation. Hunting, fishing and farming. 
Indian corn, manufacture, canoe. 

7. Picture writing. 

story of Hiawatha. 
His Childhood Home and Friends. 

For nature study in connection with Hiawatha 
story, study the moon, stars, rainbow, forests, trees, 
especially pine, fir, and linden trees. 

Animals mentioned in poems — beaver, deer, bear, 
rabbit, squirrel, and the birds. 

Story of Hiawatha's fasting. Weaving and mak- 
ing O'f loom and clothing. Commit to memory the 
gem about the rainbow, " 'Tis the heaven of flowers 
you see there," etc. Also the selection beginning, 
"Then the little Hiawatha, Learned of every bird its 
language." 

Seat Work. 

Have children cut with scissors. Old Nokomis' 
wigwam, the forest, Indian men, squaw and mai- 
dens. Bow and arrow. Tom-a-hawk. Warriors 
and war clubs. Northern Lights. Ishkoodosh. Lin- 
den tree, linden cradle. Bear, deer. Hiawatha's 
friends^ — birds, owl, squirrel, beaver. Fish. lago 
and his bow and arrow. Have the children illus- 



12 OCTOBER. 

trate, "Go my son into the forest, Kill for me some 

famous roe-buck." 
The feast. Snow-shoes, canoe. Fir-tree with 

cones. 

Illustrate, "Beware, do not shoot me." ' 

After children have cut these, for another lesson 

have themi draw them on their slates. Watch the 

clouds during this month, and paint them. 

Nature Study for October. 
Some Motives for Teaching' Nature Study. 

1. To allay the desire to kill. If we do not teach 
the boys and girls it is wrong and cruel to kill birds 
and insects we have failed in our nature study les- 
sons. 

2. To cultivate observation, respect for God and 
fellow rights. 

3. To' bring teacher and children as near as pos- 
sible toi nature and to God. 

4. To develop child's higher nature. 

5. To' prepare him to appreciate the literature that 
nature has inspired. 

How Teach Nature Study. 

I. Observations. 2. Report of observation. 3. 
Conclusions. 4. Reasons. 

Teach few technical terms. Do little taking apart 
of specimens. Have very few formal descriptions. 
Keep a weather chart and see how interested the 
children will be in noticing the various changes. 

Gen. 
Day. Date. Frost, Dew. Wind. Cloud. Rain. Temp. Moon. Ob. 

Monday 5 None S.W. Gray None 80 D. Saw a 

Tuesday 6 Dew S.W. Gray None 85 D. robin. 



OCTOBER. 



13 



Seed Study in October. 

Formation. 
Shape, size. 
Color. 
Function. 
Useful for food. 
Connection of seed and flowers. 
Coverings of seeds. 
How do seeds get out of seed boxes 
or cradles 



chaff of wheat 
husk of corn 
pod of bean 
shell of nut 
rind of melon. 



f wings 

hooks 
Means of transportation- ' springs 



sails 



maple 
linden 
dock, 
burdocks 
beggar-ticks 
. stick-tight. 
Forget-me-not. 
thistle 
milkweed 
dandelion 
aster 

golden-rod. 
cat tail 



How scattered by 



wind 
water 
animals 
man. 



How protected by ' 



shells 

burrs 

flesh 

colors resembling soil 



14 


OCTOBER. 


What animals use 


seeds for food. 




wheat 




corn 




rye 




oats 


Edible Seeds 


buck wheat 




barley 




nuts 




peas 




beans 




— Selected 


Health Lessoii- 


—Ventilation. 


Octol 


3er Composition Subjects. 


A Hallow'en Party. 




A Nutting Party. 




Gray Squirrels. 




Hickory Nuts. 




Hazel Nuts 




Cutting Corn. 




An Apple Orchard. 





Proverbs or Mottoes for Each Week for Blaciiboard. 

Pupils memorize and copy. 

1. A soft answer turneth away wrath. 

2. Laziness grows on people. It begins in cobwebs and ends 
in iron chains. 

3. Dare to do right, dare to be true, 

The failings of others can never save you. 

4. Put God in your debt, every stroke shall be repaid. 

— Emerson. 
October Birthdays. 

Helen Hunt Jackson, Jenny Lind, William Penn, John 
Adams. 



CHAPTER TIL 
J^cVember. 

Trees bare and brown, 

Dry leaves everywhere 
Dancing up and down, 

Whirling through the air. 

Red cheeked apples roasted 

Popcorn almost done 
Trees and chestnuts toasted 

That's November fun. 

Thanksgiving'. 

Girls : 

Have you cut the wheat in the blowing field. 

The barley, the oats and the rye. 
The golden corn and the pearly rice 

For the wintry days are nigh? 

Boys: 

We have reaped them all from shore to shore 
And the grain is on the threshing floor. 

Girls : 

Have you gathered the berries from the vine 

And the fruit from the orchard trees, 
The dew and the scent from the roses and thyme 

In the hive of the honey bees? 

Boys : 

We have gathered the harvest from shore to shore 

And the measure is full and brimming o'er 
God the Giver be praised forevermore. 

IS 



l6 NOVEMBER. 

Just to be tender, just to be true, 
Just to be glad the whole day through. 
Just to be cheery when things go wrong 
Just to drive sadness away with song. 
Whether the world be dark or bright 
Just to be loyal to God and the right. 

November Poems, 

Little Red Riding Hood.— JVhitticr. 
Selections from the Pumpkin. — Whittier. 
Selections from the Barefoot Boy. -^Whittier. 
Selections from Snowbound. — Whittier. 
Shut Eye Train. — Eugene Field. 

November Birthdays. 

Louise Alcott, Mark Twain, William Cullen Bryant, Grace 
Darling, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, 
Frances H. Burnett. 

SSorniug' Talks. 

"My pupils whisper, they lack honor, I am trou- 
bled with tardiness. \Miat shall I do'?" How about 
your morning talks? Are they an incentive? If 
they have not been, try a-new. Begin the day with 
a sweet sacred song, a Scripture story, or the read- 
ing of a few verses from the Holy Book, with a 
shoirt explanation — not a sermon — repeat the Lord's 
Prayer in concert and then have your inornmg talk 
which has been most carefully prepared. Tell stories 
from the lives of great men, beautiful stories from 
the Bible and the classics. Tell stories which do 
not need a moral attached, but which will sink into 
the heart of the wayward boy, the troublesome girl, 
and awaken a spark of honor and fan the flame of 
self respect. See what an effect this has upon your 
discipline. Make your morning talks what they 



NOVEMBER. ^7 

should be and see whether your tardy boy isn't on 
time to hear you talk. Notice whether honor isn't 
growing, noise decreasing, whispering less frequent 
and a general change in the atmosphere of the entire 
school room. See whether you are so' tired at mght. 

During November tell stories of gratitude, the 
gratitude of God and man. Tell the beautiful story 
of the Pilgrims. Why they left their England home, 
their voyage. Tell about the girl Priscilla who took 
care of the children and the sick, who sang sweet 
songs, told sweet sto-ries, and was loved by all. Tell 
how^ the Pilgrims began the new life by kneelino- 
upon the big rock and lifting up their hearts to God. 
Tell of the cold winter which followed, the illness 
and death of many of the little band, yet none forgot 
God. The kind visit of the Indians. Help from 
England. Happier and prosperous times. The set- 
ting apart of a day for thanking God for His good- 
ness. They invited their friends and Indians. 

They feasted, sang and prayed and thus ended 
the first Thanksgiving Day. 

Some Seat Work for the little Ones. 

Give the children scissors. Squares of paper may 
be cut for table cloths, napkins, doilies, with fringes 
cut and borders drawn to be used for Thanksgiving 
dinner. Draw or cut the good things we will have 
for Thanksgiving dinner— turkey, mince pie, celery, 
potatoes, etc. Cut or draw a dish which wnll be 
used on the table and in preparing the food. Call 
the attention of the children to the borders and 
figures found on wall paper, carpets and table linen. 



1 8 NOVEMBER. 

Copy these designs with sticks and tablets, or draw 
and paint. Cut pumpkins, ears O'f corn, potatoes. 

A Tew Thoug'hts. 

Do you think it is worth while tO' greet each child 
separately as he comes in withi a cheery "Good morn- 
ing, James." If you omit this, do- you ever complain 
of a lack oif courtesy in your pupils ? 

Doi you say "Pardon me" when you step in front 
of awkward, shambling Peter, and do' you always 
remember tO' say "Thank you," to careless untidy 
Fannie? Is it worth while? 

"Die when I may, I want it said of me by those 
who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle 
and planted a flower where I thought a flower would 
grO'W." — Abraham Lincoln. 

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less 
difficult for each other?" 

November Bird Study. 

Migration of Birds. 

Study the nests they left. 

Materials used, grass, leaves, wool from sheep, 
hair from cow and horse, silk from thistle, milk- 
weed and dandelion, moss, mud and bits oif paper. 

Who did the building? The mother. The father 
found the material and brought it to her. 

Bird Iiiterature. 

The Constant Dove. — Cclia Thaxter. 
The Woodpecker. — Cary. 
The Crow and the Pitcher. — Acsoph. 
The Fox and the Crow. — Aesoph. 
The Fox and the Stork. — Acsoph. 



NOVEiMBER. IQ 

The Dove and the Ant.— Aesoph. 
Indian Story of the Woodpecker. 
Story of Robin. — Whitiier. 
The Ugly Duckling.— Ha;t.y Anderson. 

Proverbs and Mottoes for the Week. 

1. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door 
of my lips. — Ps. 141 :3. 

2. The little foxes that spoil the vines. — "I can't, I forgot." 

3. Come what will, I will keep my faith with friend and 
foe. — Abraham Lincoln. 

4. Master what you study. 

Health Lessons. — Structure of Body. 



CHAPTER IV. 
Tyecember. 

Christmas Everywhere. 

Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night! 
Christmas in lands of the fir-tree and pine, 
Christmas in lands of the palm-tree and vine, 
Christmas where snow peaks stand solemn and white, 
Christmas where cornfields lie sunny and bright ! 

Christmas where children are hopeful and gay, 
Chfistmas where old men are patient and gray, 
Christmas where peace like a dove in his flight. 
Broods o'er brave men in the thick of the fight ; 
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night. 

For the Christ-child who comes is the Master of all ; 
No palace too great and no cottage too small. 

— Phillips Brooks. 

Not what we give, but what we share. 
For the gift without the giver is bare, 
Who gives himself with his alms feeds three, 
Himself, his hungering neighbor and Me. 



Little children can you tell, 
Do you know the story well, 
Every girl and every boy. 
Why the angels sang for joy 
On the Christmas morning? 



O happy chime 

O blessed time 

That draws us all so near ! 

"Welcome, dear day," 

All creatures say. 

For Christmas-tide has come. — Alcott. 



DECEMBER, 21 

December. 

December, oh, December, dear, 
We know your laughing face. 
And who that jolly fellow is, 
That drives at such a pace. 

The prancing steed, the jingling bells, 
The sleigh with toys heaped high, 

Proclaim to every child on earth, 
That dear St. Nick is nigh. 

— Lizbeth B. Cummins. 

Deceml^er Birthdays. 

Whittier, Edward Eggleston, Joel Chandler Harris. 
Some December Seat Work. 

Cut from magazines and papers the pictures of 
the Madonnas, the Christ-child and Santa Claus. 
Have the children mount them on gray cardboard, 
tie with ribbons or bright bits of yarn. Beneath 
the picture have them write "A Merry Christmas," 
Pupils may use these for Holiday gifts. 

Save calendars, or have the children make them 
and mount on cardboard, adding an appropriate 
Christmas wish. 

Let the pupils cut several stockings. Draw or 
paint a design on one for the cover. On the other 
stockings have the pupils write a memory gem, a 
number lesson, a language lesson. Tie with bits 
of yarn or ribbon. 

Have the children ask their mothers to "blow" 
the eggs they use for co'oking, by making a tiny hole 
in the end and blowing through. Let the pupils paint 
these shells, tie with yarn or ribbon and use as gifts 
or tree decorations. 

Draw, cut or paint all the things you saw on the 



22 DECEMBER. 

holiday counter at the store. Draw, cut or paint 
Christmas bells and holly. 

Draw or paint reindeer. Cut, draw or paint the 
tops Santa brings. 

Draw or paint stable and manger where Christ- 
child was born. 

Make needle books for gifts. Paint a cover of 
pasteboard and sew together pieces of flannel. 

Make match cases, match scratchers. Tie blot- 
ters together, painting the outside oiie. 

Make stocking or star book marks. Draw or 
paint chimneys or fireplaces with stockings hung 
in front. Dress old dolls to be given away. With 
the gifts enclose a card with one of the following 
quotations : 

1. "Sunbeams bless thy Christmas Day, 

Gladness dwell with thee for aye." 

2. "We hope your Christmas will be merry; 

We hope you will be happy, very." 

3. "The world is happy the v/orld is wide. 

May joy be yours this Christmas tide." 

4. "Christmas comes but once a year, 

Christmas always brings good cheer." 

5. "Christmas greetings with good cheer, 

And may you have a glad New Year." 

6. "Holly branch and mistletoe, 

Happy days where'er you go." 

7. "Sing a song of Christmas, 

Wish you happy times, 
Four and twenty joybells 
Ring you merry chimes." 

Draw, cut or paint snow flakes. Arrange in bor- 
ders or pretty designs. Cut leaves of holly, paint the 



DECEMBER. 23 

outside one. on the others write Christmas auota- 
tions. Tie with ribbon. 

Butterfly Party. 

Some clay have each pupil cut and color twO' but- 
terflies. Another day, after a good lesson, mix and 
distribute these butterflies, and see how quickly each 
child can find its partner — the one whose butterfly 
is like his. 

Nature Study. 

Preparation INIother Nature has made for plants, 
animals, seeds, birds, and insects. Where are they 
now ? 

Formation of snow, frost and ice. 

Storing of food. 

Christmas in foreign lands. 

Otean life ; oysters, sponges and star-fish. 

Tell about the Bethleh.em star. Study stars, sun 
and moon. 

Study camel the wise men rode. 

Observe the weather, especially the wind. 

Christmas trees — evergreen, pine. 

Health Lessons. — Care of the eyes. 

Mottoes for the Board. 

"Peace on earth, good will to men." 
"Be courteous and thoughtful." 
"Be diligent and trustworthy." 
"Am I doing the best I can?" 

stories. , 

Stories of the Christ-child. 

Dickens' Christmas Carol. 

A Hospitable Christmas. — Alcott. 

Sugar Plum Tree. — Eugene Field. 

Why do bells at Christmas ring — Eugene Field. 

A Visit from St. Nicholas. — JVhittier's Child Life. 



CHAPTER V. 

January, 

Memorize : 

How can a little child be merry, 
In snowy, blowy January? 
By each day doing what is best. 
By thinking, working for the rest, 
So can a little child be merry. 
In snowy, blowy January. 



Oh, I am the little New Year, oh ! ho ! 
Here I come tripping it over the snow, 
Shaking my bells with a merry din. 
So open your doors and let me in. 



A bright New Year and a sunny track 

Along an upward way, 
And a song of praise on looking back 

This is my New Year's wish for you. 



Ring out the old, ring in the new. 
Ring, happy bells across the snow, 
The year is going, let him go, 
Ring out the false, ring in the true. 



What season of the year is it? 

Why so called? 

What month ? 

Meaning of the word? 

How many days in the month ? 

What is Nature's chief work during these days? 

January Birthdays. 
Mozart, Robert Burns, Jacob Grimm. 
24 



JANUARY. 25 

Proverbs or Maxims for the Board. 

1. Create in me a clean heart, O God. — Ps. 51:10. 

2. What ought not be done, do not even think of doing. — 
Epictetus. 

3. Never interrupt another while he is speaking. — Wash- 
ington. 

4. A person good at making excuses is seldom good for 
anj'thing else. 

January Seat Work. 

Cut, draw or paint the gifts Santa brought. 

Cut, draw or paint, Eskimo, house, lamp, sled, 
utensils and animals. 

Cut too'Is used by miners, carpenters, blacksmiths 
and butcher. 

Draw different coins. 

Cut all articles found in the kitchen, dining room 
and parlor. 

January Poems. 
Jack Frost. — Celia Thaxtcr. 
The Frost Spirit. — IVhitticr. 
The First Snow Fall. — James R. Lozvell. 

Nature Study and MorninEf Talks. 

Study Eskimo and children of other lands. Their 
animals. Study bear, seal, deer, etc. Study sheep'. 
cow and horse 

Study soil, minerals, especially different kinds of 
coal used to keep us warm. 

Study different coins of the United States and 
minerals used to make them. 

Talk about the tools the miners, carpenters and 
blacksmiths use. 

Study snow and water. Use of water for drink- 
ing, ba.iiing, cleaning, cooking, quenching fire, for 
gro.vth of plants, motive power. 

Health Lessons. — Care of Teeth. 



CHAPTER VI. 

February, 

Memorize : 

Will winter never be over, 

Will the dark days never go? 
Must the butter-cup and the clover, 

Be always hid under snow? 

Ah ! lend me your ear love ! 

Hark, 'tis a beautiful thing; 
The weariest month of the year, love, 

Is shortest and nearest the spring. 

Pebruary Birthdays. 

George Washington, Lincoln, Longfellow, Mendelssohn, 
Dickens, Sherman, Edison, Karl Grimm. 

Proverbs and Mottoes for Blackboard. 

1. My son, hear the instruction of thy father; and forsake 
not the law of thy mother. — Prov. i : 8. 

2. Gold is good in its place ; but living, brave and patri- 
otic men are better than gold. — Lincoln. 

3. Lost time is never found again, and what we call time 
enough, often proves little enough. — Benjamin Franklin. 

4. The fisher who draws in his net too soon, 

Won't have any fish to sell, 
The child who shuts up his book too soon. 
Won't learn any lessons well. 

Seat Worb. 

Cut, draw or paint flags, shields, eagles, hatchets, 
cherries, cherry tree, cocked hats, swords and gnns. 

Draw or paint flags oi different nations. Cut pic- 
tures of Washington from postage stamps, mount on 
red, white and blue shields. 

26 



FEBRUARY, 27 

Make valentines to be given to father, mother, 
aged people and the sick. Cut a kite, draw a heart in 
the center and write, "My heart's a kite, 'twill not 
take wing, because dear heart you hold the string." 

Cut and paint a pretty heart shaped valentine for 
mother. On it write, "The valentine I'm sending 
says, 'The one that I love best. There's only one to 
give that to-, Perhaps you may have guessed to> who, 
I'll send it with my dearest love — tO' Mother.' " 

Make envelopes for St. Valentine. 

Cut, draw or paint log cabins and rail fences such 
as Lincoln made. Cut, draw ot paint, tents the sol- 
diers slept in. 

Foems. 

The Children's Hour. — Longfellozv. 

From my Arm Chair. — Longfellow. 

Story of Barbara Frietchie. 

Paul Revere's Ride. 

Sheridan's Ride. 

Village Blacksmith. — Longfellow. 

The Poet and the Children.— JF/u7hVr. 

Morning" Talks. 

Talk about Mendelssohn's birthday. Music. The 
good it does. Various kinds of instruments, primi- 
tive musical instruments. Musical toys. 

Stories from the Life of Lincoln. Stories of the 
negro and the South,. Stories from the Life of 
Washington and other brave knights. 

Patriotic incidents. Our wars. 

Health Lessons. — Bathing. 



CHAPTER VII. 
March, 

Blow, wind of March, blow all about, 
And clean the cracks and corners out. 
Sweep with your broom the earth and sky, 
For company is coming by and by 
And everything must be fresh and neat 
When we hear the patter of April's feet. 



My mother told me long ago 

(When I was a little tad) 
That when the night went wailing so. 

Somebody had been bad ; 
And then, when I was snug in bed. 

Whither I had been sent, 
With the blankets pulled up round my head, 
I'd think of what my mother said. 

— Eugene Field. 

In the snowing and the blowing, 

In the keen and cutting sleet 
Little flowers begin their growing 

Far beneath our feet. 
Softly taps the spring and whispers 

"Darlings are you there?" 
Till they answer, "We are nearly, 

Nearly ready, dear." 



March Birthday. 

March birthday — William Dean Howells. 

"Where is winter with his snowing 

Tell us Spring," they say, 
Then she answers, "He is going. 

Going on his way. 
Poor old winter- loves you truly 
But his time is past, 
28 



MARCH. 29 

Son my birds will sing above you, 
Set you free at last." —Eleanor Smith. 

laarch Nature Topics. 

Be sure to' enooiiirge oiutdoor observation. 

Attentions to earliest signs of spring. Forces of 
nature, wind, rain, sunshine, kites, windrhills, mills, 
boats, etc. 

What wind does. Helps birds fly South, helps 
trees get ready for winter, freezes streams, scatters 
snow, brings down nuts and fruits, brings back the 
birds, dries roads, clothes, etc. Helps sailor and 
miller, melts the snow. Warms the earth and man. 

Lengthening of days. Maple trees and sap gath- 
ering. Sugar and sugar making. Loaf sugar, gran- 
ulated sugar, maple sugar, brown sugar. Sugar 
beets and sugar cane. Maple sugar, molasses and 
soTghum making. 

March School Gardens. 

Wet a large sponge, cover with flax or grass seed 
and place in a glass in a sunny place. Keep the 
sponge wet. It will be a source of great interest. 

Fill egg shells with rich earth, plant a bean, a pea 
or corn seed in each. The shells can be distributed 
for observatiom more conveniently than boxes and 
the children will enjoy them much moire. 

Hang potatoes, onions and turnips in a sunny 
window, and as they sprout many interesting les- 
sons may be taught. 

Plant nasturtium seeds in window boxes, they 
will bloom before school closes. Morning glories 
will do the same. 



30 MARCH. 

Bring in twigs from all the different trees. Place 
in water. The water should be changed daily. Use 
the twigs for nature study, language lessons, draw- 
ings and cuttings. Especially study pussy-willows. 
-They are always favorites with, the children. 

March Bird Study. 

Bird study should awaken reverence foir life, and 
make pupils feel that it is wrong to rob nests and 
kill birds. Teach the children tO' recognize birds by 
their flights, by their food habits, by their nests, by 
their songs, and by their plumage. 

Bird Foeius. 

Birds of Killingworth. — Longfellow. 
How the Robin came. — IVhittier. 
My Robin. — Longfelloiv. 
The Robin's Nest. — Phoebe Cary. 

Birds' Bg-grs. 

Birds which build their nests out of sight in dark 
places, where they are safe, lay eggs of a light color, 
white, blue or green. 

Birds wh,ich build in the tree-tops, usually lay 
green eggs — near the color of the leaves. 

Birds which build nests on the ground usually lay 
eggs of a brownish color. The mother-bird sits on 
the eggs and often changes their position. The 
father-bird usually sit?: on the nest when the mother- 
bird goes away. 

Nests. — Notice material used, shape, size, and 
position in the trees. Robin Red-breast plasters his 
nest with mud. Male bird collects material, female 
builds. Birds have no teeth nor heavy jaws, since 



MARCH. 31 

they swallow their food whole. . Bird's chief strength 
lies in the wing muscle. 

All the bones and the quills upon which the feath- 
ers grow are hollow and filled with air. The lungs 
also, being filled with air, the bird's body somewhat 
resembles a balloon and is easily kept in the air by 
the simple motion of fanning with the wings. 

The male is usually of brighter plumage than the 
female. The female spends most of her time on the 
nest and her less conspicuous coloring attracts less 
attention to herself and to the nest. 

Bobin Bed-Breasts. 

It usually takes Robin and his mate three or 
four days to build their cozy little home. They like 
to build in the low branches of the apple trees. The 
moth,er bird usually lays four or five eggs. Their 
color is a blue green. It takes about eleven days to 
hatch the eggs. Robin sings to his mate while she 
sits, brings her food, and sits on the nest wheu she 
goes away. He usually sits on another tree when 
he sings to her, for fear of attracting attention to 
the nest. His song is "Cheer-up." The robins are 
the only birds that sit in the rain and sing. They 
are very early risers. The father teaches the young 
birds to fly. The yoimg robins are about three weeks 
old when they leave the nest. 

Wake robin, wake robin, 

O Robin dear, 
Come from the marshy thicket, 

For spring time is here. 



32 MARCH. 

March Drawingr and Paper Cutting'. 

Windmills, mills, boats, kites, twigs, umbrellas, 
birds, nests, eggs. Cut kites, windmills, and make 
thiem. Cut birds, eggs, and nests. 

Cut garments toi be washed, posts and washline, 
tubs, irons, ironing-board, clothes rack, broom, dust 
pan, duster and dusting cap. 

Mottoes and Gems for the Blackboard. 

1. "For he who always does his best, 

His best will better grow, 
But he who shirks or slights his task, 
He lets the better go." — Phoebe Cary. 

2. Go to the ant, thou sluggard. — Proverbs, 6:6. 

3. Great works are performed not by strength but by per- 
severance. — Johnson. 

4. I will be clean in my words. 

Health Lessons. — Alcohol and Narcotics. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
April. 

An April "Welcome. 

Come April, through the valley, 

In your robes of beauty drest, 
Come and wake your flowery children, 

From their wintry beds of rest ; 
Come and overblow them softly. 

With the sweet breath of the south; 
Drop upon them warm and loving, 

Tenderest kisses of your mouth. 

Call the crowfoot and the crocus. 

Call the pale anemone, 
Call the violet and daisy, 

Clothed with careful modesty; 
Seek the low and humble blossoms, 

Of their beauties unaware, 
Let the dandelion and fennel. 

Show their golden hair. 



Ah, welcome, sweet April, whose feet on the hills 
Have walked down the valleys and crossed o'er the rills. 
The pearls that you bring us are dews and warm showers, 
And the hem of your garment is bordered with flowers. 



Swing robin in the budded spray, 
And sing your blithest tune. 

Help us across these homesick days 
Into the joys of June. 



Do something for somebody gladly, 
'Twill sweeten your every care; 

In sharing the sorrows of others 
Your own are less hard to bear. 
33 



34 APRIL. 

Do something for somebody always, 

Whatever may be your creed ; 

There's nothing on earth can help you 

So much as a kindly deed. — Fcnis Whitney. 

Nature Study Outline for April. 

Awakening life. 
Easter. 

The change in the soil. Germination. 
Heating of the earth. 
Sprmg, rains, fog and dew. 
Budding and blossoming of trees. 
Vegetation. 

Bird study continued. 
Study the hens, eggs and little chicks. 
First insects. 

This is the month of the rainbow and moonlight and star- 
light nights. 

"A rainbow in the morning 

Is the sailor's warning. 
But a rainbow at night 

Is the sailor's delight." 

Study eggs of birds, fowls, fishes, snakes, turtles, 
insects, worms, cocoons, frogs and toads. Notice 
the difference between the frog and toad eggs. Toad 
eggs are arranged in strings. Watch the eggs change 
into wigglers and tadpoles. 

stories for April. 

Do not forget to tell the beautiful Easter Story of 
the Christ whoi came back tO' us on Easter Day to 
tell us of His new life and of the life that is to be 
ours. 

King of the Golden River. — Riiskin. 

Pandora's "Qo-i^.— Hawthorne. 

The Golden Touch. — Hawthorne. 

The Ugly Duckling. — Hans Anderson. 

The Proud Apple Tree. — Hans Anderson. 



APRIL. 35 



The Pea Blossom. — Hans Anderson. 
King of the Birds. — Grimm. 



"When April one day was asked whether 
She could make reliable weather 
She laughed till she cried 
And said, 'Bless you I've tried 
But things will get mixed up together.' " 

April Foems. 

What Robin Told. — Cooper. 

The Brown Thrush. — Lucy Larcom. 

Singing. — Robert Louis Stevenson. 

My Shadow. — Robert Louis Stevenson. 

Little Birdie. — Tennyson. 

April Birthdays. 

April 2. — Hans Christian Anderson. 
April 3. — John Burroughs. 
April 21. — Frederick Froebel. 
April 27. — U. S. Grant. 
April 28. — Alice Gary. 

Memorize the gem from Alice Cary: 

Little children you must seek 
Rather to be good than wise, 

For the thoughts you do not speak 
Shine out in your cheeks and eyes. 
Memorize : 

I am a book. 
My mission is to give you pleasure. 
Please put an apron on me. 
Please touch me with clean hands. 
Please make no marks on me. 
Please don't turn down my leaves. 
Please don't break my back. 

Please help me to help you and to help your friends. 
Smcerely yours, Aesoph's Fables.- 



36 APRIL. 

Seat; Work for Younger Pupils. 

Draw, cut or paint Easter lilies. Commit to mem- 
OTy, "Consider the lilies, how they grow, they toil 
not, neither doi they spin, yet I say unto- you that 
Solomon in all his gloTy was not arrayed like one of 
these." 

Paint birds and birds' eggs. 

Draw, cut or paint chicken eggs and downy yel- 
low chicks. 

Draw, cut or paint the "Easter Rabbit." 

Make Easter cards as messages oi joy to some 
one who' is ill or in trouble. 

Draw twigs from different trees as the buds 
unfold. 

Draw, cut or paint umbrellas and ruljbers for 
April showers. 

Let each pupil draw or paint an original April 
Calendar. 

Frover1}s or Maxims for Blackboard. 

1. A wise son heareth his father's instruction; but a scorner 
heareth not rebuke. — Proverbs, 13:1. 

2. Many strokes though with a little axe 

Hew down and fell the hardest timbered oak. 

— Shakespeare. 

3. Make the most of the best in you. 

4. I will restrain my tongue when I am angry. 



CHAPTER IX. 
May. 

O, the merry month of May 
We have come to meet you. 

Little lads and lassies gay, 
Happily we greet you. 

Robins in the tree top 
Blossoms in the grass, 

Green things a-growing 
Everywhere you pass. 



O violets tender, your shy tributes render, 
Tie round your wet faces, ](our soft hoods of blue, 
And carry your sweetness, your dainty completeness 
To some tired hand that is waiting for you. 



Here blows the warm red clover 
There peeps the violet blue, 

Oh, happy little children, 
God made them all for you. 

I know, dear modest violet 
Gleaming with dew at morn, 
I know the place you came from 
And the way that you were born. 

When God cut holes in heaven, 
The holes the stars look through 
He let the scraps fall down to earth, 
The little scraps are you. 



"Flowers are the sweetest things God made and did not put 
a soul into." 

37 



38 MAY. 

"Flowers are the thoughts and fancies of the Angels in 

Heaven." 
"Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven, 
Blossom the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels." 

Proverbs and Mottoes for the Board. 

1. A wise son maketh a glad father; but a foolish son is 
the heaviness of his mother. — Proverbs, 10:1. 

2. A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words 
stir up anger. — Proverbs, 15:1. 

3. We love children whose faces, hands and feet, as well 
as their lips speak beautiful thoughts. 

4. Politeness is to do and say, the kindest thing in the kind- 
est way. 

Cutting' Wessons. 

Cut different kinds of buds, leaves, twigs. 

Cut birds. Cut and draw May flowers. Draw 
May Calendar. 

Cut and draw flower beds with flowers in them. 
Cut flowers, plants, seeds, etc., from plant catalogues, 
mount and use foir language lessons. 

May Birthday — Louis Agassiz. 

Nature Study. 

Study flowering plants. Plant as a whole. Kind, 
shape, size, foliage, blossom. Stem, shape, divisions. 
surface, scars, etc. Use to plant. Leaves, size, 
shape, varieties, color, markings, shape, length and 
manner O'f attach,ment tO' stem. 

Roots, use to plant, kind, size, number. Painting 
and drawing. 

FloAvers, general appearance, beauty of form, 
color, cluster, parts oi flower — corolla, calyx, sta- 
mens, seed cup, — uses to plant. 

Study seeds, bean, pea and corn. 



MAY. 39 

Use of leaves as food and shelter^ — to^ insects, 
buds, trees, worms, animals, man, soil. 

Insects, appearance, home, structure, use. 

Study their wings in regard to shape, size, color," 
texture. 

Position of wings in rest, in use. 

Birds. 

After you have finished your bird study lessons 
have the pupils commit to memory the bird quota- 
tions given below, then let them draw the bird, its 
nest and eggs, and write the quotation on a sheet 
of drawing paper. 

Tie these bird pictures and quotations together 
with bits of ribbon Oir yarn and notice how inter- 
ested the pupils are in their bird books. 

"The swallow is a mason, 

And underneath the leaves, 
He builds a nest and plasters it, 

With sand and hay and leaves. 

Of all the weavers that I know, 

The oriole is the best, 
High on the branches of the tree, 

She hangs her cozy nest. 

The woodpecker is hard at work, 

A carpenter is he, 
And you may hear him hammering 

His nest high up a tree." 

High in the top of the old pine-tree. 
Broods a mother dove and her young ones there, 
Warm over them is her soft downy breast, 
And they sing so sweetly in their nest. 
"Coo," say the little ones, "Coo," says she, 
All in their nest in the old pine-tree. 



40 MAY. 

Oh owl, bird of night, thy round eyes glow 
With all the learning which the sages know. 



"Never the song of robin, could make my heart so glad, 
When I hear the blue-bird singing I forget to be sad," 

"Do you wonder why I am not always in sight 
While I am calling, 'Bob White,' 'Bob White?'" 

"O, robin, robin, singing in the rain, 

While black clouds lower, 
Above your bower." 

May Cheer. 

Do not forget toi make May a month of joy. For 
seat work let the pupils make baskets to^ be given 
to sick friends, toi old people, to father and mother. 
They can be made out of any kind of paper, or out 
of raffia, or little boxes may be gaily covered and 
filled with flowers. An envelope makes two' pretty 
baskets. Cut the sealed envelope diagonally. Paint 
with water colors and tie with ribbon. 

Poems for May. 

Spring. — Celia Thaxter. Poems for Cliildren. 

The Scarecrow. — Celia Thaxter. Poems for Children. 

Calling the Violet. — Lucy Larcom. Childhood Songs. 

The Swing. — Robert Louis Stevenson. 

Black Bird.— Alice Cary. 

May Stories. 

The Sower and the Seed. — Bible. 

Peggy's Garden and What Grew In It. — Celia Thaxter. 

Five Little Peas. — F£ans Andersen. 

Story of Maple Leaf and Violet. — Kate D. Wiggins. 

Health Lessons. — Circulation and Respiration. 



CHAPTER X. 

SuggC'Sli'Oe Supplementary Language 
L,esson>s. 

A PETITION. 

To be written om the board for moirning' nature 
study talk, read, erased, and reproduced for language 
work. 
To the Boys and Girls of the General Court of Iowa : 

We, the birds of Iowa, make this humble petition. 
We ask your protection. There are still boys in the 
grand old State of Iowa who kill us, steal our nests 
and our young ones, or they catch us and put us in 
cages — prisons where we die slowly. There are still 
men in your State who kill us, mount us and place 
us in glass cases in show windows. We grieve to 
say that there are still ladies w^ho w^ear our wings 
and feathers on their hats. We need them.. Will 
you beg of them not tO' do so? 

In return for granting this our humble petition, 
let us tell you what your little feathered friends will 
do for you. We will love you dearly. We will sing 
our sweetest songs for you. We will play around 
yoiir homes, trees and flower beds. We will destroy 
the bugs and worms that eat up your flowers and 
plants. We will cheer you when you are sad. If 
you must shoot us, shoot us with your kodaks, in- 

41 



42 LANGUAGE LESSONS. 

Stead of guns and slingshots. O, we will love you, 
and be so happy, in return for granting this our 
humble petition. Signed, 

Mr. and Mrs. Robin Red Breast. 

Mr. and Mrs. Robert O'Lincoln. 

Mr. and Mrs. Woodpecker. 

Mr. and ]\lrs. Barn Swallow. 

Mr. and Mrs. Blue Jay. 

Mr. and Mrs. Thrush. 

Mr. and Mrs. Blackbird. 

Mr. and Mrs. Blackbird. 

Mr. and Mrs. IMeadow Lark. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pigeon. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow. 

Mr. and Mrs. Scarlet Tanager. 

Mr. and Mrs. Humming Bird. 

Mr. and Mrs. Turtle Dove. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wren. 

I\Ir. and Mrs. Oriole. 

Mr. and Mrs. Linnet. 

Laura Loehle Thornburg. 
Raindrops. 

What we are made of, where we came from, our 
journey to the earth. Where we went and what we 
saw. What we did for the earth and the people. 

The Story of a Cent. 

Give each child a cent. Write all you can see on 
it. What does each mean ? What is a cent made of ? 
Where is it made? Describe an imaginary journey 
of a cent. 



LANGUAGE LESSONS. 43 

lessen on a Dollar Bill. 

What president's picture is on the bill? Tell 
something about him. What national building? 
Tell about it. What monument ? Describe it. What 
else do you see ? What does it mean ? 

Seal of tlie United States. 

What kind oi a bird do^ you see on it ? What is 
there alxiut this bird that the United States wishes 
to imitate ? What words are on the banner ? What 
do they- mean ? What is on the breast of the bird ? 
What does it mean? In one claw the bird holds a 
branch. From what tree is this taken? How in 
times past was a branch of this tree used? What 
has the bird in the other claw ? What is the mean- 
ing? Notice what is above the bird's head. Of 
what does this remind you ? Doi you think the bird 
holds these emblems loosely or firmly? Does that 
have any meaning for you ? Upon what is the seal 
of the United States used? 

A liittle Joiirney. 

Vary this by journeys about the school, county. 
State and nation. 

Last Saturday my father took me to Des Moines. 
We got out of the carriage near Fifth, and Walnut 

and saw the Building. We walked a 

few blocks soiith and saw the new — , and 

the new depot and the which 

belongs to^ Uncle Sam. From there we walked north 
and east until we came to the river and saw the new 
Building. Then we went to the East Side 



44 LANGUAGE LESSONS. 

and saw the beautiful and the 

monument, and . In the 'last building we 

saw many things which our teacher has often 
described. We were very tired so we took a street 
car, paid the conductor — cents, and rode over the 
river, did some shopping, found our carriage and 
drove home tired but happy. 

A Book Review. 

Tell each child tO' choose some took he has read. 
Place the following outline upon the board. Title 
of book. Author's name. Hero's name. Principal 
characters. Minor characters. Brief outline of 
story. Estimate oi book. Do- you like the ending 
of the story? If not, how would you have it end? 

Flag of United States. 

Name its colors. How many stars and stripes? 
Why this number? What do' each of the colors 
mean? Whoi designed the first flag? What days 
do we like especially well to display the flag? 
Describe th.e flag of some other country. Is it as 
pretty as ours? Have you ever heard about the 
flag cheering anyone? Tell about it. How does 
the sight of the flag make you feel? 

Thing's We Wear. 

Tell all you can about them. Gold and Silver. 
Artificial flowers, buckles, buttons, hooks and eyes, 
combs, jewelry, horn (combs), ivory (fans, buttons, 
buckles, umbrella handles) pearl, jet, cotton, silk, 
wool, furs, rubber, (combs, erasers, rubbers, mack- 
intoshes.) 



LANGUAGE LESSONS. 45 

Composition Subjects. 

Children to find their own material in the ency- 
clopedia and reference books. 

The making O'f pins, needles, cloth, rubbers, gun- 
powder,- leather, silk and paper. 

Write invitations to dinner, birthday parties, 
Church and SchiOOil, Christmas and Thanksgiving 
programs, etc. 

Write parts of a story on the board and let pupils 
clothe it, as, "Little Girl. Mother on porch. Dog 
in front of her. Boy." 

A Week's Iiang-uasfe Program. 

Monday — Reporters' Day on Current Events. 
Tuesday. — Composition Day. 
Wednesday. — Description of Pictures. 
Thursday. — Story Day. 
Friday. — Letter Writing. 

Verse Interpretation. 

Give the children a poem. Let themi write what 
each sentence or verse means tO' them. This is excel- 
lent work. 



CHAPTER XI. 
S-eat te/orK, 

"The things a child can make 

May crude and worthless be ; 
It is his impulse to create 

Should gladden thee !" 

Cantio'ii — Ahva}'s examine seat work. 

Cut stories from newspapers, let children cross out 
all the familiar words. Cut pictures from maga- 
zines. Children write a list oi all the objects and 
the older ones write a story. Let the children cut 
pictures from magazines, china and fashion cata- 
logues. This gives excellent training in exactness. 

Excellent busy work can be done with bits of 
bright colored leather from the shoe or harness shop. 
Almost a year's supply can be obtained for twenty- 
five cents. As a special favor let the children cut 
from leather instead of paper. These cuttings may 
be mounted with charming effect in books, on 
Christmas gifts, valentines, calendars, blotters, etc. 

Save all the calendars. Let children cut out the 
number squares and mount. Use for addition, sub- 
traction, etc. 

Save all cancelled stamps. Children may cut out 
the portraits and make beautiful designs. Cut out 
the "two's," "three's," etc. Make borders. 

Fill paper bags with bits of yarn, paper, cloth, rib- 
bon, etc., in the six standard colors. Have the chil- 
dren sort the colors. 

46 



SEAT WORK. 47 

Fill a box with pictures, such as ships, houses, 
cats, etc., and in the same box have slips containing 
the words ship, house, cat, horse, etc. Place two 
together. Write. 

Trace stars. Paste pictures in center. Tie with 
yarn or ribbon. 

Trace circles, rectangles, draw around them mak- 
ing a cart. Fill with words, numbers, etc. 

Distinguish dominoes. If there are six dots on 
the domino, write all combinations of the number 
six — 4 plus 2 equal 6 ; 3 plus 3 ecjual 6 ; etc. 

Draw a Christmas tree, placing various marks on 
it. Children write beneath the tree what kind O'f a 
present each mark indicates. Use for language. 
Child says, "Fred gave nie a top." "I gave little 
lame Bessie a doll." 

Draw a grocery store. Write a list ol all the 
things that can be bought at a grocery store. 

Write telegrams and invitations. 

Cut heads of artists, poets, statesmen, heroes, etc., 
from magazines. Mount in some pretty way. 

Cut pictures from seed catalogues and tin cans, 
mount and write story beneath. 

Distribute cards with printed or written words on 
them. Give one to each, pupil. Smallest pupils may 
write the names a number of times. Older pupils 
write as many sentences as they can, using the word 
in each. If word begins with a capital, unless a 
proper noun, it must be used at the beginning of the 
sentence. Vary this by having the pupils write ques- 
tions. 



48 SEAT WORK. 

Have pupils cut articles from catalogues of house- 
hold furniture, mount and write name beneath. 

Distribute cards with words, house top, carrot, 
etc., and have children draw object. 

Children cut circles, make clock O'f it, using the 
Roman numerals. 

Name and draw tools a carpenter, farmer, black- 
smith uses. 

Write two articles people usually have for break- 
fast, dinner, supper. 

Write names of flowers you like best, draw them. 

Cut figures from calendars or papers, mount, plac- 
ing the addition, subtraction, division or multiplica- 
tion signs between them. Use for number work. 

Cut two strips of cardboard. Let children number 
neatly. On one card write the numbers from one to 
ten in their order, on the other write the numbers out 
of their order. These cards may be used often for 
number lessons by hanging on the board and plac- 
ing the addition or subtraction sign between. 
Another set may be made by writing words on the 
same strip, as, marbles, tops, pencils, etc. Make 
problems. Illustrate story that has been told. 

Cut circles, oblongs, squares, etc., of colored pa- 
per. Write beneath, "This is a red circle." 

Cut a square, draw everything like a square. 

Cut a circle, draw everything like a circle. A tri- 
angle. 

Write names of games you play. Write names of 
all the animals you have ever seen. Write names of 
all the fruit trees, of vegetables. 



SEAT WORK. 49 

Write sentences and their names on slips of paper 
for the little ones toi copy. Write name of school, 
county, state, teacher's name, parent's name. Copy. 

Give slips in reading. I see a . Child to 

complete. 

Cut circles or squares. Arrange in borders or 
pretty designs. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Sen^e Training Game's. 

Elizabeth K. Harrison says, "The one thing 
which prevents most of us from being what we might 
have been, is the dull and stupid way in which we 
use our senses." Give the child who' is apparently 
dull and stupid some vigorous sense training. You 
will notice a great change in him. 

Eye Trainingr Games. 

Mount pictures of birds. Place on the board or 
hold up three or four for an instant only. Pupils 
name the birds in the color held up, name from right 
to left, name the second, fourth, etc. 

Vary this by placing the pictures on the board for 
an instant only. Change order of pictures. Call on 
pupils tO' replace. Pictures of authors, artists, ani- 
mals, etc., cut from magazines may be used in the 
same way. Have a duplicate set oi pictures, hold up 
one and child must find duplicate instantly. 

Give a. child a pointer. He is tO' touch some ob- 
ject in the room. Next child tonches this same 
object and another, and soi on. Small children often 
remember fifteen to twenty objects. 

A set O'f balls ov tassels with string attached for 
holding will be found very useful. Make the balls or 
tassels of yarn using the six primary colors, red, or- 
ange, yellow, blue, green and purple. Hold up sever- 

50 



SENSE TRAINING GAMES. 5 1 

al of the tassels for a moment. Children "go^ to 
to sleep" while you take one away. Which is miss- 
ing? Vary this by having the children "gO' to 
sleep" and teacher goes about the room saying, "I 
gave the red ball toi Mary, the green ball toi Frank." 
Child comes to> the front and says, "Miss C. gave 
the red ball tO' Mary, the green ball to Frank." 

Write several sentences on the board. Look at 
them a moment. Erase. Tell them in their order, 
the last, the third, the second, etc. 

Place a box, an eraser, bell, flower, knife, in front 
of pupils. Let them look an instant before covering. 
Name from left to right. Right to left, second, 
fourth, etc. Change the order. Children replace. 

Draw a large circle on the board for a target. 
Wet a soft rubber ball, let pupils throw at target. 
Children at seats may clap for the successful one. 
Place twoi blocks on desk. Th.row bean bags, see 
whO' can throw them both. 

Touch several children who are toi run toi the 
front and take some pose for an instant and then 
run back to their seats. Another child finds these 
children and poses them as before. 

Place a picture before the class, such as Millet's 
'"Shepherdess," etc., call on some pupil to pose the 
picture. 

Call on some child to step in front of school a 
moment and then run tO' the cloak room. Describe 
child, clothing, features, etc. 

Teacher stands in front of school, places her hands 
on shoulders, hips, claps, etc. Child is called to come 
to the front and do the same quickly. 



52 SENSE TRAINING GAMES. 

Place several children in a row. Close eyes. 
Change their position and call on some one to place 
as before. 

Call on some one toi be a blue-bird or a red Fairy. 
Flits about the room and touches everything that is 
blue. 

Child describes a picture or object in room. Others 
find it. Play old game of "I spy." 

Ear Training' Ganies. 

Child somes to' the front and closes his eyes. 
Teacher points to some one at seat, whO' says, "Good 
morning, Frank." Frank must discover by sound of 
voice whoi it is and reply, "Good morning, James." 

Vary this by a politeness game. Child at seat 
asks, "How is your mother to-day, Frank?" He 
says, "She is very well, thawk you, George." 

Gossip Game. — Five or six children come to tlie 
front. Teacher whispers a sentence tO' the first child, 
he whispers it toi the next child exactly as he heard it, 
and so on down the line. The last child says the 
sentence out loud, and if it is not exactly as the 
teacher told it, they are "gossipers." 

Children close eyes. Teacher claps her hands 
twice, stamps her foot, knocks on the door, etc. 
Children wake and one must do the same. 

Bloiw a horn, ring a bell, play on the mouth harp, 
etc., while children are asleep. Children wake and 
some one does the same. 

Sing either up or down the scale. Child says, 
"Miss M. sang down the scale." 

Have some pupils read the lesson. Teacher writes 



SENSE TRAINING GAMES. 53 

it on the board just as he reads, others go and cor- 
rect. 

"Where Am I?" 

Children "go tO' sleep." Teacher sends a child 
toi each side of the room and he says, "Mary where 
am I?" Mary judges by the sound and says, 
"George is at the west side of the school room," or 
"George is in the northwest corner o-f th.e room." 

Roll a cube, roll a sphere. Tell which was rolled. 
Roll a heavy block and a light one, tell which was 
rolled first. 

Roll a marble, a rubber ball, a yarn ball. Dis- 
tinguish. Tap on iron, wood, glass and slate. Dis- 
tinguish. . 

Motor Games. 

Try these when your children are tired and need a 
rest. 

Skip Away. — The children stand hi a circle, taking 
hold of hands. One child who is "it" runs around the 
outside of the circle and tags another as he runs. The 
child tagged runs in the opposite direction to the first 
runner. The child v.dio first reaches the place in the 
circle left vacant by the one tagged, wins. The one 
left out becomes runner. 

Ladder Game. — Place a ladder on the floor. The 
children jump over the ro'unds, run, hop and fly 
over. 

Change About. 

Children stand in a circle and are numbered. The 
child who is "it" stands in the center and calls two 
numbers. The children whose numbers are called 



54 SENSE TRAINING GAMES. 

must change places, while the child who is "it" tries 
to get one of their places. The child who is left 
withoiut a place becomes "it." Play the old game of 
"dropi the handkerchief" for a few minutes. 

Let twoi children hold a stick. Others run about 
the room and jump over it. Have the children take 
hold of the top of the desk with one hand and back 
of seat with the other. Jump over the seat. 

Touch Trainingr Games. 

Fill little bags with various articles, rice, beans, 
coffee, peas, tapioca, etc. Tell by touching what the}' 
are. 

Fill a box with various articles, marbles, nails, 
spools, screws, buttons, etc. Place an object in the 
child's hand for an instant. Fie tells in good lan- 
guage. 

Child 'closes his eyes. Place in his hand for an 
instant a cube, or a cylinder, sphere, prism, etc. 
Tells by sense of touch what it is. 

Let pupil touch a piece of wood, stone, glass, etc. 
Name in order. Discover who a chjld is by touching 
face, body and clothing like blind people do-. 

Place a cube, cylinder, sphere, etc., in a row. 
Child clo'ses his eyes and touches the objects saying, 
"I am touching a sphere. I am touching a cylinder." 

Smell. 

Smell an onion, coffee, a flow^er, a leaf, distin- 
guish. 

Name in order. 



SENSE TRAINING GAMES. 55 

Smell camphor, perfume, vinegar, etc., name in 
order. 

Smell different kinds oi fruit. Name. 

Taste. 

Taste different kinds of fruit. Name. 
Child takes a pinch of salt, pepper, coffee, etc. 
Name in order. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Some SuggC'tlion^, 

A good rule for nature students : "Be sure you 
are right, then look again." — Comstock. 

"Hast thou named all the birds without a gun? 
Loved the wood-rose and left it on its stalk?" 

— Emerson. 

Let yo'ur pupils have a "picture gallery" of their 
own. Pin up a piece of black or dark gray cloth. 
On this pin pictures of master-pieces and o^ther good 
pictures which children find in magazines and papers. 
Use for morning talks and language lessons. 

Beautiful ink drawings can be made with brushes 
made of toothpicks. Tie a little piece of cotton 
around a toothpick, or chew the end of a soft tooth- 
pick until it resembles a brush. Use any kind of ink. 

Friday Question Box. 

Keep a box to be opened Friday afternoons. At 
the close of each day drop in a few questions con- 
cerning the most important parts of the lessons, as, 
How many pints in a quart? Whoi wrote Evange- 
line? Where is Cape Cod? Instead of a spelling 
match, have a question match, choosing sides. 

A Spelling' Game. 

Use the old-fashioned "Pussy wants a corner" 
game. A pupil is chosen as pussy. When on a 
misses a word Pussy has a chance. If Pussy 

56 



SOME SUGGESTIONS. 



57 



misses too, another child is chosen from the seats 
for the corner, and both who missed are pussies. 

A Chansre for the Beading' Class. 

Select a book and story which is new to the class. 
The book is given toi one oi the class, he reads a 
paragraph slowly and distinctly and passes the book 
to the next child, and so' on until the story is read. 
Pupils may take notes or just listen. They go to 
their seats and reproduce the story, or wait until next 
day and reproduce and bring to class, each pupil 
reading his story. 

Bible Stories. 

Story oi the Creation, Adam and Eve, Wander- 
ings thru the Wilderness, David and Solomon. 
Moses receiving the Commandments. 

Story of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Joseph, 
Daniel, Christ-child, Christ, His Life Miracles and 
Death, Prodigal Son. Stoiry oif the loaves and 
fishes. 

History — Dramatization. 

Tell historical scories. The older children may 
reproduce for language work, younger pupils may 
dramatize. Teacher selects one child as the "star." 
and he selects the cast. The "actors" repair to the 
cloak room and quickly plan how they are toi play 
the story, and come in and play it. Let them 
dramatize their reading lessons whenever possible. 
Notice the new interest in reading. 

Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth, Barbara 
Frietchie, Paul Revere, Grace Darling, Boston Tea 
Party. Landing of the Pilgrims (shivering and 



58 



SOME SUGGESTIONS. 



desolation), Pocahontas, Hobson and the Merrimac, 
George Washington, the cherry tree, and his father ; 
Scene on the Boston Common, Merrimac and Moni- 
tor, Stonewall Jackson at Bull Run, Robert Fulton 
and steamboat, stories from the life of Lincoln, 
Jenny Lind, Clara Barton and the Red Cross 
Society, Florence Nightingale, Dickens, Edison, 
Napoleon, St. Valentine, Columbus, John Smith, 
Miles Standish, Roger Williams, Patrick Henry, 
Daniel Boone, Ulysses Grant, George Dewey. 

Number Game. 

Send pupils to the board, give a problem, and at 
a given signal they all begin tO' work. As soon as 
a child has solved the problem he turns about and 
the teacher numbers them : Bessie i ; George, 2 ; 
Frank, 3; etc., in the order they finished. If two 
finish at the same time, the neatest work is given 
preference. When all have finished they take their 
places as they were numbered and another problem is 
given. 

Celebrate the birthdays of your pupils in some 
way, — by letting him select the songs, stories, etc., 
for the day, by having others write him a letter at 
language time, by making a little gift at seat time, 
by getting flowers for his desk. Make it a spe- 
cially happy day for him. 

Prize IiiBtB for Twenty-five Boobs. 

The "Saint Nicholas" offered six prizes for the 
six best lists of twenty-five books that should be 
found in a child's library. The first prize of fifteen 



SOME SUGGESTIONS. 59 

dollars in gold was awarded to Mary Mead Hodge, 
Passaic, N. J. Tlie folloiwiiig is the first prize list 
selected fro-m upward of four thousand orders sent 
in coinpetition : 

1. Ivanhoe. — Scott. 

2. Quentin Dnrward. — Scott. 

3. Pathfinder. — Cooper. 

4. Last of the Mohicanz.— Cooper. 

5. Jungle Books.-^Kipling. 

6. Westward Ho ! — Kingslcy. 

7. Arabian Nights. 

8. The Rose and The Ring.— Thackeray. 
g. Wonderbook. — Hazvtlwrnc. 

10. A Tale of Two Cities.— Dickens. 

11. Christmas Stories. — Dickens. 

12. Poems of Longfellow. 

13. Works of Shaicespeare. 

14. Treasure Island. — Stevenson. 

15. Tom Brown at Rugby. — Hughes. 

16. Pilgrim's Progress. — Biinyan. 

17. Sketch-book. — Irving. 

18. Child's Garden of Ytrses.—Stevcnson. 

19. Uncle Remus. — Harris. 

20. The Man Without a Country .—H ale . 

21. Robinson Crusoe. — Defoe. 

22. Gulliver's Travels. — Swift. 

23. Alice in Wonderland. — Carroll. 

24. Jackanapes. — Ezving. 

25. Wild Animals I Have Known.— Thompson. 

Substitutes : 

2. Lady of the Lake. — Scott. 

3. The Caged Lion. — Yonge. 
6. Water Babies. — Kingsley. 

9. Rudder Grange. — Stockton. 

10. Autocrat of the Breakfast Tah\e.—Hohnes. 
15. King of the Golden River. — Rnskin. 
19. Lays of Ancient Rome. — Macaulay. 

24. Little Women. — Alcott. 

25. Fairy Tales. — Andersen. 



6o SOME SUGGESTIONS. 

The Twelve (rxeat Pictures. 

Buy Perry Pictures. Set will cost twelve cents. 

The twelve great pictures of the world, accord- 
ing to a list generally accepted, are: i, Raphael's 
"Transfiguration," in the Vatican, Rome; 2, Ra- 
phael's "Sistine Madonna," in the Dresden gallery; 
3, Guido's "Aurora," in the Palazzo Rospigliosi, 
Rome; 4, Leonardofla Vinci's "Last Supper," in 
Milan; 5, Michael Angelo's "Last Judgment," in the 
Sistine chapel, Rome; 6, Titian's "Assumption," in 
the Academy Cathedral ; 8, Rembrandt's "Night 
Watch," in Amsterdam Gallery; 9, Fra Angelico's 
"Coronation of the Virgin," Louvre, Paris ; 10, Van 
Eyck's "Adoration of the Lamb," Church of St. 
Bavon, Ghent; 11, Murillo's "Liimaculate Concep- 
tion," Louvre, Paris; 12, Holbein's "Madonna," in 
the Dresden galleiy. 

"A beautiful picture is a silent teacher." 

Number Game. — Interest may be added to the 
drill work of learning to read numbers in hundreds, 
thousands, etc. Draw^ a picture of a large house. 
Fill the house with, numbers and tell the pupils it 
is house cleaning time. Each pupil reads a num- 
ber, and, if correct, steps to the board and erases it. 
When all numbers have been read correctly the 
house is cleaned. This same device may be used 
for the multiplication table, or pronunciation of hard 
words. 

Pass calendar numbers, or write a numl^er on each 
slate. Pupil rises and says, "My number is nine. Is 
it larger ot smaller than yours ? How much ? 

On slips of paper write numbers tO' be added, sub- 



SOME SUGGESTIONS. 6l 

tractecl or multiplied, as 5 plus 4 equals? Eight 
minus 3 ; 2 multiplied by 6 ; 9 divided by 3, etc. On 
the other cards write the results and distribute (9, 
5, 12, 3, etc.). 

Child h,aving the first slip goes to the board and 
writes, 5 plus 4. Child having the right result goes 
to the board and finishes the work. 

Write "6" on the board. Write all the "and" or 
"minus" stories you can. 

Place a row of numbers 00 the board : 3, 2, 6, 4, 
5, 8 ; add two toi each. Subtract one. 

Use calendar figures. Give each child same. He 
writes, "My number is 17; 17 equals i dime, i 
nickel, 2 cents." 

Grame — Fox and Chickens. 

Give each child the same number of cards, sticks 
or blocks. Let one of their number impersonate fox, 
and while the eyes of the children are closed, the 
fox takes away a different number from each. Re- 
quire them to tell at a glance how many of their 
chickens the fox stole, as, "The fox stole four of my 
chickens." 

For the Teacher. 

"Get thy spindle and distaff ready, and God will send thee 
the flax." 

•'Children are the to-morrow of society." — Wheatley. 

"Children have more need of models than critics." 
"If you make children happy now, you make them happy 
twenty years hence by the memory." 

"The more we know, the better we forgive, 
Whoever feels deeply feels for all who live." 



62 SOME SUGGESTIONS. 

"There is no school unless the father, mother, teacher and 
pupil keep school together." — Su[>t. Grecnzvood. 

"A well trained voice is the most powerful factor in the 
education of children." 

"There is no preparation for the life to come, as good as 
doing your work to-day as well as you can." 



CHAPTER XIV. 
Memory Gem^. 

I'll help you, and you'll help me, 

Then what a splendid school there'll be. 



The best love man can offer, 
To a God of love, be sure. 

Is kindness to His little ones 
And bounty to His poor. 



Memorize the 23rd Psalm. 



Here blows the warm red clover, 
There peeps the violet blue, 

O, happy little children, 
God made them all for you. 



Father, to thy love and power. 
Comes again the evening hour. 
Light has vanished, labors cease. 
Weary creatures rest in peace. 



Little children you must seek. 
Rather tO' be good than wise, 

For the thoughts you do not speak. 
Shine out in your hearts and eyes. 



There is something good about pansies, 
That is worth your while to know, 

The more they are plucked and given away, 
The more they are sure to grow. 



The inner side of every cloud. 

Is bright and shining, 
I therefore turn my clouds about. 

To show the lining. 

63 



64 MEMORY GEMS. 

How many smiles there might be, 
If only people knew they feel better 

When their faces smile anew. 
How many smiles there will be my friend 
When you and I have learned, 
To practice what we wish. 

That other folks would do. 



April's coming up the hill ! 

All the spring is in her train, 

Led by shining ranks of rain ; 

Pit, patter, patter, clatter. 

Sudden sun, and clatter, clatter. 

First the blue and then the shower; 

Bursting bud and smiling flower ; 

Brooks set free with tinkling ring; 

Birds too full of song to sing ; 

Crisp old leaves astir with pride, 

Where the timid violets hide, — 

All things ready with a will, — 

April's coming up the hill. — M. M. Dodge. 



In Apple Tree Town. 
Three wise men lived 

In Apple-tree town. 
So wise, each wore 

A big, big frown ; 
But they couldn't tell whether 

Ahem ! Ahem ! 
The apple seed pointed to the 

Flower or stem ; 
'Tis sad but true. 
That none of them knew — 
Do you ? Do you ? Do you .'' 



Build a little fence. 

Around to-day. 
Fill the space with loving work, 

And therein stay. 



MEMORY GEMS. 65 

Look not through the sheltering bars 

Upon to-morrow 
God will help thee bear what comes 

Of joy or sorrow. 



If I knew you and you knew me — 
If both of us could clearly see, 
And with an inner sight divine 
The meaning of your heart and mine, 
I'm sure that we would differ less 
And clasp our hands in friendliness ; 
Our thoughts would pleasantly agree 
If I knew you, and you knew me. 



And suppose the world don't please you, 

Nor the way some people do. 
Do you think the whole creation 

Will be altered just for you? 
And isn't it my boy and girl. 

The wisest, bravest plan. 
Whatever comes, or doesn't come, 

To do the best you can? 



The true university of these days is a collection of books. 
Carlyle. 



Resolve to be merry. 

All worry to ferry 
Across the famed waters that bid us forget; 

And no longer fearful, 

But happy and cheerful, 
We feel that life has much that's worth living for yet. 



God makes the lovely flowers and birds. 
The diamonds and the pearls, 

But the sweetest things He makes, 
Are little boys and girls. 



66 MEMORY GEMS. 

Kind hearts are the garden, 
Kind thoughts are the roots, 
Kind words are the flowers. 
Kind deeds are the fruits. 



Children are God's apostles, day by day sent forth to 
preach of love and hope and peace. — Lowell. 



CHAPTER XV. 



No. 1. 5 X 5in. 



No. 2. 5x5 in. 



Paper Folding, 





Fold from near to far edge. First 
fold a book. Tell stories from book. 
Cleanliness in care of books. How to 
hold a book, etc. 



Fold into thirds. Make window. 
With pencil draw curtains. What win- 
dows are for. Fresh air. Sunshine. 
Our eyes. 




No. 4. 5x5 iu. 




Fold into sixteen squares. 



Cut the dark lines. Fold into a house 
or barn. If a house add a chimney and 
cut windows, if a barn, cut animals from 
paper and magazines. Paste piece of 
paper below so they will stand and make 
a barnyard. 

67 



MAH. 12 1906 



68 



PAPER FOLDING. 



No. 5. 5x5 in. 






1 1 \ 


1 i 1 



No. 6. 5x5 in. 



•1 — 



No. 7. 4% X 5 in. 



No. 8. 


4 14 X 4 


'2 in 







- 




j 1 

i 


- 



No. 9. 8x8 in. 



I > 



Cut dark lines. Box with lid or dres- 
ser. If a dresser, make fringed paper 
scarf. With lead pencil draw oval mir- 
ror and handles. 



Make basket. Cradle. Cut half 
circles from piece cut off below, paste 
on each end for rockers, or use the piece 
for handles on basket. Make watering 
trough for barn. Grain boxes. Sled, 
wagon, four wheel cart, two wheel cart. 



Half inch flap at right. Square, 
prism, chimney. 



8 

Half-inch flap at left. Cut dark lines, 
one inch deep. Square prism with closed 
top. Street car. 

Fold this back double. 



Triangle. Match safe. 



V 



